Friday, U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08), the representative of Fort Bragg and an outspoken advocate for North Carolina’s military community, released the following statement after the House passed the FY18 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA):

“I never want America to be in a fair fight – I want our warfighters to always have the best tools, equipment and training they need to defeat the enemy and return home safely. This bipartisan bill will help ensure that by making critical investments in programs and services that bolster readiness while giving our troops a well-deserved pay raise. And it does all of this while implementing major reforms to the Department of Defense that save tax-payer dollars, including a measure I wrote to improve the way the Pentagon does business. This NDAA reflects my priority to maintain our ability to guarantee our national security while striving for good stewardship of tax dollars, and I’m proud to support it.”

Representative Hudson’s amendment to advance fiscal responsibility within the Department of Defense (DOD) while ensuring our warfighters have the resources, training and tools they need to carry out their missions were included in the bill. To read his amendment, click here.

In addition, the FY18 NDAA contains critical provisions to rebuild a strong military, increase readiness and support our service members, including measures to:

- Provide our troops a well-deserved pay raise at 2.4 percent—the largest in 8 years—while extending special pay and bonuses for service members.Prohibit the reduction of inpatient care for military Medical Treatment facilities located outside the United States.

- Provide resources to help families manage challenges like relocations, permitting the Services to reimburse a service member up to $500 for a spouse’s expenses related to obtaining licensing or certification in another State because of a military move.

- Authorize increases in the size of Army, Navy, Air Force, Army Guard and Reserve, Naval and Air Reserve, and Air Guard commensurate with the threats we face. These increases include the Chief of Staff of the Army’s unfunded requirement to grow the active Army by 10,000, the Army National Guard by 4,000, and the Army Reserve by 3,000.

- Reform the acquisition process to spend taxpayer dollars more wisely and get our troops cutting-edge technology quickly and efficiently.

- Improve the way the Pentagon buys commercial-off-the-shelf goods by allowing the government to use online commercial sites like Amazon, Staples, or Grainger just as businesses do.

- Maintain longstanding provisions to prohibit transferring Guantanamo Bay detainees to American soil and prohibit DOD from using any funds to transfer the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay back to Cuba.